Duluth School Board May Put Old Central H.S. Building Up For Sale

DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth School Board will decide Tuesday on whether to put the historic Old Central High School building up for sale.

If the resolution is passed, board member Alanna Oswald says it simply means the district will see what type of interest is out there because the nearly $50 million price tag to repair the aging building a bring it up to code is a problem.

“We only get about $5 million a year to maintain all of our building across the district. So a price tag of $48 million to fix this building just to be as it is — that’s just unattainable and unrealistic,” Oswald said.

Oswald said the building is not fully ADA compliant, the clay tile roof is constantly leaking, there’s no air conditioning and the old radiators for heating often fail, among other issues.

Whoever potentially buys the building will not be able to tear it down because it’s on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Oswald.

And unlike the district, a private developer could leverage historic tax credits from the state and federal levels to bring new life into the building.